The Ottawa Hospital Apologizes To Physician Who Was Sexually Harassed, Bullied By Colleagues

The Ottawa Hospital has apologized to a researcher and physician after an independent investigation confirmed she had been the victim of a campaign of bullying and harassment by two male physicians as well as sexual harassment by one of them.

“On behalf of TOH (The Ottawa Hospital), I am very sorry for your experience,” the hospital’s chief of staff Dr. Virginia Roth wrote to Dr. Marisa Azad. “Not only does this conduct contravene TOH policy, but it falls far short of our expectations for collegial and respectful professional interactions.”

The letter was addressed to Azad in late January after the completion of an independent investigation based on allegations she made last July.

Roth wrote that the hospital would take “corrective actions” against the two physicians — Dr. George Grammatopoulos and Dr. Hesham Abdelbary, both orthopedic surgeons — who breached the hospital’s ethical code. Allegations against two other physicians were dismissed.

Neither Grammatopoulos nor Abdelbary responded to requests for comment.

Azad would not comment on the findings, nor would the hospital. The Ottawa Citizen has viewed the letter and a summary of the findings by independent investigator Maria Gergin Phillips.

Among other things, the investigation found that Azad was the victim of a repeated pattern of harassment undertaken by two physicians. That included “retaliatory action” that involved attempts to interfere with her professional relationship and research work with a Winnipeg company on phage therapy, attempts to exclude her from doing certain patient rounds and, in one case, “a form of resistance with respect to Dr. Azad’s use of their shared laboratory space”.

The investigation mentions the two physicians found to have harassed Azad asked at least two other doctors not to work with her following the bacteriophage study as part of a “retaliatory action”.

The investigation also concluded that Azad was subject to conduct by Grammatopoulos that “meets the definition of workplace sexual harassment.” That included placing his hands on her thighs without her consent during a clinic, referring to her as a girl, and making comments about her physical appearance that had “sexual undertones”.

Azad is an infectious disease physician and researcher at The Ottawa Hospital who specializes in treating periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs). She made headlines for groundbreaking bacteriophage (or phage) therapy treatment last year.

In collaboration with the Winnipeg company Cytophage Technologies Inc., Azad made use of an old therapy that deploys viruses, called phages, to fight bacterial infections. The therapy is gaining new attention during a period of growing antibiotic resistance.

Azad’s last-ditch experimental treatment for a 79-year-old Ottawa-area resident with a severe joint infection is believed to be the first time in Canada that phage therapy has been successfully used to treat a periprosthetic joint infection (involving an artificial joint) after all standard treatments failed. The patient who had been through multiple unsuccessful treatments and surgeries to treat the infection has said she believes the experimental treatment saved her life.

While Azad was continuing to work on that treatment, according to the investigation, she was being subject to bullying and harassment in her workplace.

The investigator quoted the hospital’s anti-bullying policy, calling the behaviour by both physicians part of a “repeated pattern of intentional, direct or indirect behaviour (aggressive or passive), whether verbal, physical or otherwise, by one or more staff members against another staff member or group staff, which could reasonably be regarded as undermining the individual’s right to dignity at work.”

Among other findings of the investigation was that Grammatopoulos engaged in “retaliatory action” toward Azad following her bacteriophage study in the spring of 2024 by initiating and leading an effort to exclude her from periprosthetic joint infection rounds – during which she provided care to patients with periprosthetic joint infections (involving artificial joints) along with a member of the orthopedic surgery division.

The investigation also found that Grammatopoulos made a statement that was “threatening and/or coercive in nature in response to Dr. Azad’s advice that she would continue to forge ahead with the collection of samples for her research.”

The investigator found that Abdelbary not only “engaged in a form of resistance with respect to Dr. Azad’s use of their shared laboratory space,” but engaged in “retaliatory action” towards her. That followed her bringing up concerns about his use of grant funds without prior discussion.

The investigation also found that Abdelbary engaged in actions “that can objectively be understood as an attempt to interfere with Dr. Azad’s professional relationship and research work with Cytophage Technologies”. It also found that Abdelbary supported action led by Grammatopoulos to exclude Azad from PJI rounds in the PJI clinic.

In the letter, Roth recommended Azad meet with the hospital’s safety team to discuss safety measures. She also said that “corrective actions” would be taken against Grammatopoulos and Abdelbary.

In response to requests for comment from the Ottawa Citizen, the communications department issued this statement: “To protect staff and physician privacy, The Ottawa Hospital cannot comment on specific personnel matters.”

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Rob Delatolla outside his lab at the University of Ottawa Wednesday in Ottawa. Delatolla, is a UOttawa researcher, leads the waste water surveillance program in Ottawa.